Author: Jaxon Bennett

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.China’s biggest technology groups are building artificial intelligence teams in Silicon Valley, seeking to hire top US talent despite Washington’s efforts to curb the country’s development of the cutting-edge technology.Alibaba, ByteDance and Meituan have been expanding their offices in California in recent months, seeking to poach staff from rival US groups who could help them make up ground in the race to profit from generative AI.The push comes despite US efforts to stymie their work. Chinese groups have been hit by a…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The internet economy is all about free labour. Facebook, Snap, Pinterest and peers lay on forums, games and videos at no cost. In return, billions of users contribute posts, likes, photos and social connections — which tech groups then use to sell advertising. Presto: free stuff is spun into gold.Reddit might be the hottest riff on that theme. The thematic message board company co-founded by Steve Huffman is one of the best-performing initial public offerings of 2024. Its shares have quadrupled since…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Samsung shares rose more than 5 per cent on Monday in response to a Won10tn ($7.2bn) share buyback plan aimed at boosting its stock, which had fallen to four-year lows last week.The world’s largest maker of memory chips and smartphones announced after Friday’s market close it would buy back stock to “boost its shareholder value” over the next year, including spending Won3tn for share cancellations over the next three months. Investors hope the buybacks — Samsung’s first since 2017 — will help…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.When your company’s cyber security team contacts you personally, it is rarely for a positive reason. In my case, it was to inform me I would no longer be able to access my work emails from my phone. Apparently my device — a second-hand model I bought several years ago — was so old it had become a security risk.This has simply meant checking my work emails less — many would think hardly a sacrifice. But not all workers without company phones…

Chinese smartphone manufacturers are intensifying efforts to gain a stronger foothold in Europe and sell higher-margin premium devices, with one of the world’s fastest-growing brands aiming to more than double its market share on the continent in the next three years.Shenzhen-based Realme, which has increased European sales by 275 per cent from 2020 to last year, according to analysts, says it is targeting a market share of more than 10 per cent in the next three to five years, up from 4 per cent.Currently the continent’s fourth biggest supplier, the handset maker became the fastest ever to reach 100mn global…

Xavier Niel, one of Europe’s top technology investors, believes the region can succeed in creating leading artificial intelligence companies even without the billions in capital raised by US competitors — as long as founders are not tempted to cash out too early. “I think we can create big things with a few hundred million euros,” the French billionaire who made his fortune in telecoms with operator Iliad and now invests broadly in start-ups. This includes backing Paris-based AI group Mistral which has soared to a €6bn valuation within a year of being founded.“Europe can create competitive AI models today,” he…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldElon Musk likes to flex his sense of humour. The Tesla boss’s new US government leanness committee, greenlit by president-elect Donald Trump, shares an acronym with a novelty shiba inu-themed cryptocurrency. But the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) might end up answering serious questions. Among them, whether it is possible to cut and grow at the same time.Companies generally prioritise one or the other. Leaders tend to focus on expanding revenue when times are good or boosting margins when growth…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The Post Office has halted development of a replacement to its scandal-hit Horizon software, as it struggles to overhaul its operations in the wake of one of the UK’s biggest miscarriages of justice.The state-owned mail group is preparing to install computer equipment across its branches. This was supposed to run on new software from next year, but will now continue to use the old Horizon software developed by Japanese group Fujitsu.In a long-running scandal that led to a public outcry this year,…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Two of Elon Musk’s private companies are set to secure multibillion-dollar jumps in valuation through new deals, as investors race to back the sprawling business interests of the world’s richest man.SpaceX, the largest private company in the US, is preparing to launch a tender offer in December that will sell existing shares in the business at about $135 each, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. That would value the rocket builder at more than $250bn, up from about $210bn during…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Joe Biden’s administration have finalised more than $11bn in grants and loans to support the company’s US chipmaking plans, as the White House pushes to distribute subsidies before Donald Trump takes office. The deal with the world’s biggest chipmaker, which includes up to $6.6bn in grants and up to $5bn in loans, is the first major award under the Chips Act to be finalised. It is also the largest foreign investment in a new manufacturing…